This rum sour cocktail builds on the classic combination of rum and lemon to create a libation that is deliciously, delightfully different. Expect tart flavours, mellow sweetness and the luscious taste of rum to shine in this easy to make sours cocktail.
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The rum sour is a cocktail that easily gets overlooked beside other dominant sours cocktails, but I urge you to give it a try. Rum and lemon juice work in harmony together and, of course, it’s easy to get creative by varying the rum, sweetener or citrus juice.
And get creative is exactly what I’ve done with my version of the rum sour cocktail that I’m presenting today. There’s comforting spiced amber rum, tangy lemon & lime juice and sweet mellow honey in the blend. Expect plenty of sublime flavour in this easy-to-make libation.
What is a sour cocktail?
A sour cocktail in its most basic form comprises a base spirit, citrus juice and a sweetener. Egg white is often included too, but it’s not compulsory.
What is the classic sour cocktail ratio?
The classic 2:1:1 ratio in a sour cocktail comprises:
- Two parts base spirit.
- One part sour.
- One part sweet.
Although this ratio is an excellent starting point it can, and should be, adapted according to the ingredients used. In the case of this spiced rum sour cocktail, I toned down the sweetener because the rum has an inherent sweetness about it compared to other base spirits such as vodka or gin.
What are the most popular sour cocktails?
There are endless versions of sour cocktails around. The whisky sour is perhaps the most common but pisco sours, gin sours, brandy sours (aka brandy daisy), amaretto sours, and rum sours are all common too.
Many common sour cocktails go by names you most likely have already heard of such as the Margarita, Gimlet, Sidecar, Paloma and Daiquiri.
What is the difference between a rum sour and a daiquiri?
Quite simply, the daiquiri is always made with white rum whereas a rum sour is made with dark, amber or spiced rum. This difference not only affects the taste but also the appearance of the drink.
Technically, a daiquiri can be classed as a rum sour but not all rum sours are daiquiris.
Common ingredients for sours cocktails
Citrus: Lemon juice is often the first choice when it comes to making a sour cocktail. And it works exceedingly well. But there are other options including lime, orange and grapefruit. Experimenting with cocktails is something I can’t resist so I moved away from the basic rum and lemon pairing for my rum sour recipe.
Sweeteners: simple syrup is prevalent in most sours cocktails but this can also be varied. I’ve been creative with maple syrup and chamomile infused syrup in some of my recipes and in this recipe for rum sour, I plumped for honey.
Why this rum sour recipe is worth making
If I really need to tempt you further with this rum and lemon cocktail note the following reasons why this drink is a winner.
- Perfectly balanced: it ticks the sweet and sour box perfectly – neither characteristic dominates.
- Depth of flavour: rum adds plenty of warming flavour.
- Mellow: there’s a soft mellowness about it thanks to the honey.
- Tanginess: the blend of lemon and lime adds extra zing to the final flavour.
- Appearance: the foamy egg white top adds an air of luxury to the presentation.
Ingredients notes
Rum: the blindingly obvious star ingredient in any rum sour recipe! I’ve used Rumbullion, which is a deep amber-coloured spiced Caribbean rum. It’s brimming with intoxicatingly delicious notes of vanilla, orange, cassia, cardamom and cloves. When combined with the citrus juice in this cocktail it presents a lively serve. Any dark, amber or spiced rum could be used in its place though.
Citrus juice: although rum and lemon are common in classic rum sours, I’ve included lime juice too. It adds an extra layer of interest to the final flavour profile. I highly recommend you try it.
Honey: I did experiment significantly with different sweeteners, trying this rum sours cocktail out using simple syrup, demerara syrup, maple syrup and honey. The latter was by far my favourite. It stood out leaps and bounds and I genuinely felt the alternative versions lacked a little spark in comparison. The next best alternative would be maple syrup.
Egg white: this is optional but does add several qualities to the drink so I’d urge you not to leave it out. Aside from that enviable foamy top (on which the Angustora bitters can be playfully scattered), shaking egg white into a cocktail lends viscosity and smoothness to the liquid. Don’t believe me? Try it and thank me later.
Step-by-step instructions
- Measure the alcohol, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white and honey into a cocktail shaker (do not add ice).
- Secure the lid and shake hard for 30 seconds (the dry shake).
- Now add a large handful of ice and shake for another 30 seconds (the wet shake).
- Strain into a suitable glass and garnish as desired (try scattering drops of Angustoras bitters over the top then using a cocktail stick to drag each droplet into a pattern).
Expert tips
This spiced rum sour cocktail is easy to make but keep the following tips in mind to enjoy this libation at its best:
- If there’s time chill your serving glass or place a few ice cubes it it while you make the drink, then discard them when ready to serve. This helps ensure the drink is served refreshingly ice cold.
- Use a cocktail jigger to get accurate measurements. Cocktails are finely balanced beauties and guessing or using approximate measures is not the best approach to take when mixing them.
- Don’t forget to shake the drink twice – first without ice (the dry shake) then with ice (the wet shake). It’s the best way to create that creamy top.
- Shaking without ice first also ensures that the honey gets mixed into the drink rather than solidifying at the bottom of the shaker due to the coldness of the ice.
- Use plenty of ice in the cocktail shaker. This helps to chill the drink and dilute it.
- The Angustora bitters garnish is optional. Alternatives, such as a twist or lemon or lime peel work well on this rum and lemon cocktail too.
Frequently asked questions
The honey will seize if it comes into direct contact with ice before it blends with the other ingredients. For this reason, the dry shake is essential to prevent the honey from firming up. Only when the honey has been incorporated into the other liquids should the ice be added for the wet shake.
Hand on heart, we can never be 100% certain it’s safe to consume raw egg white. However, if you use fresh, pasteurised eggs, the risk of illness is incredibly low. If you’re in the UK choose eggs stamped with the British Lion mark as these eggs come from birds vaccinated against salmonella.
The egg white does add wonderful texture and mouthfeel to the drink, not just that pretty top, so only leave it out if you really have to, but remember that consumption of it is at your own discretion and risk.
There are 2 ingredients in this rum and lemon cocktail that need to be replaced to turn it into a vegan rum sour:
1. In place of honey use maple syrup. It has a lovely depth of mellow flavour that also tallies pleasingly with rum.
2. You’ll also need to use aquafaba in the cocktail mix in place of the egg white. It’s vegan and makes an acceptable substitute for those hoping to achieve that enviable foamy layer on top of their rum sour cocktail.
I don’t like to get too hung up on selecting the correct glassware. I tend to go with what I think a cocktail would look good in (I’m such a rebel).
This drink looks equally impressive in a classic sours glass (like the ones pictured) and also in a short tumbler loaded up with ice. It could also look quite graceful in a deep coupe-style glass such as this one (bought from H&M Home several years ago).
This rum and lemon cocktail is best served freshly prepared as the egg white foam will deteriorate if it is left to stand.
What food to serve with rum sour cocktails
There are a plethora of options when it comes to food to serve with rum and lemon cocktails. Here are my musings:
- Fish: ceviche (raw fish marinated in citrus) and oysters are often heralded as ideal partners to sour cocktails as the tartness of the cocktail cuts through the richness of the fish.
- Nuts: roasted, salted or even sweet masala spiced nuts would do the job.
- Dried fruit: raisins or apricots fit the bill superbly.
- Fresh fruit: try some pineapple. Go for chilli-marinated pineapple if you’re feeling adventurous.
- Dessert: think along the lines of tart and refreshing puds such as lemon meringue tart, key lime pie or even lemon drizzle cake.
Variations
- Make an Amaretto rum sour – replace the bourbon with rum in this recipe for Disaranno sour.
- Go with an aged rum sour – this one does require aged rum.
- Or try out a Jamaican rum sour – you guessed it, use Jamaican rum for this one.
- Use just lemon juice or just lime juice.
- Replace the honey with orgeat syrup (almond syrup) – it would pair beautifully with the rum.
- Experiment with infused syrups such as gingerbread or masala chai.
More sours cocktails to try
Have you made this rum and lemon cocktail recipe? If so please let me know how you got along with the recipe by leaving a comment and/ or rating below. I always love to hear from my valued readers.
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Rum Sour Cocktail
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail shaker or a large sturdy screwtop jar
- 1 Jigger for accurately measuring the ingredients
- 1 Strainer or sieve
Ingredients
- 40 ml Rum Spiced, dark or amber all work well
- 10 ml Lemon juice
- 10 ml Lime juice
- 10 ml Honey
- 15 g Egg white
To Garnish (optional)
- Dried orange
- Angustoras bitters
Instructions
- Measure all liquids into the cocktail shaker.
- Secure the top and shake hard for 30 seconds.
- Now add a large handful of ice to the shaker and shake well for another 30 seconds.
- Strain into a serving glass and garnish as desired – a few drops of Angustoras bitters scattered on top of the egg white foam look great – each droplet can be pulled into a pattern using the end of a cocktail stick.
Notes
- If there’s time chill your serving glass or place a few ice cubes it it while you make the drink, then discard them when ready to serve. This helps ensure the drink is served refreshimngly ice cold.
- Use a cocktail jigger to get accurate measurements. Cocktails are finely balances beauties and guessing or using approximate measures is not the best approach to take when mixing them.
- Don’t forget to shake the drink twice – first without ice (the dry shake) then with ice (the wet shake). It’s the best way to create that creamy top.
- Shaking without ice first also ensures the honey gets mixed into the drink rather than solidifying at the bottom of the shaker due to the coldness of the ice.
- Use plenty of ice in the cocktail shaker. This helps chill the drink and dilute it.
- The Angustoras bitters garnish is optional. Alternatives, such as a twist or lemon or lime peel work well too.
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